2010 Toronto Book Awards finalists and past winners read at Word on the Street

The finalists of the 2010 Toronto Book Awards, as well as previous finalists and winners, will read in the City of Toronto tent at the 21st annual Word on the Street Book & Magazine Festival on Sunday, September 26. The free event will be held at Queen’s Park (from Bloor Street to Wellesley Street) from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The City of Toronto in partnership with the Toronto Public Library is inviting Torontonians to “get a new read on Toronto” with many ways for the community to embrace and explore this year’s shortlisted books. A group reading event will take place at the Toronto Public Library’s Yorkville Branch at 22 Yorkville Ave. on Tuesday, October 5 at 7 p.m.

The winner of the 2010 Toronto Book Awards will be announced on Thursday, October 14 at the Toronto Reference Library. For more information about the finalists and shortlisted books, visit http://www.toronto.ca/book_awards.

This year marks the 36th anniversary of the Toronto Book Awards. Established by Toronto City Council in 1974, the Toronto Book Awards honour authors of books of literary or artistic merit that are evocative of Toronto. The annual awards offer $15,000 in prize money. Each finalist will receive $1,000 and the winning author receives the remaining prize money.

The Toronto Public Library is the world's busiest urban public library system. Every year, more than 17.5 million people visit its 99 branches and borrow more than 31 million items. To learn more about the Toronto Public Library, visit the website at http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca or call the Answerline at 416-393-7131.

Toronto is Canada’s largest city and sixth largest government, and home to a diverse population of about 2.6 million people. It is the economic engine of Canada and one of the greenest and most creative cities in North America. Toronto has won numerous awards for quality, innovation and efficiency in delivering public services. Toronto’s government is dedicated to prosperity, opportunity and liveability for all its residents. For information about non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can dial 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.